Events

Big thanks to everyone who tuned into today’s/last night’s Munted! Xmas party – I was there for the second half and had a great time with the rest of the crew. Expect to see downloads appearing very soon.

Tonight there’s yet more Krafty-based freeform action, courtesy of the Smiling Corpse podcast and this episode’s host, Dyzphazia. Making this extra special is his guest, none other than Qygen! As he mentioned in his Watchtower interview, he rarely (if ever) DJs, so a mixed or live PA Qygen set is a real treat. I’m hoping to catch this as it airs, at the usual place from 10pm GMT tonight.

The timetable for this weekend’s Munted! extravaganza is now public, and is looking very nice indeed. Sadly the curse of work-on-a-Saturday has struck again, so I’ll have to rustle up a cunning plan that gets me home in time for my set (3am GMT, midday on Saturday JST). In a perfect world I’d be able to catch Aryx too, but that might be asking too much this time. For the Europe crew this has all the makings of a lovely night, so settle in for a full 8 hours of freeform and I hope to join everyone in the second half.

GMT Timetable, Fri. 21st Dec

10-11 THUMPA
11-12 ENDEMIC
12-01 SUBSTANCED (HISTORY OF SUBSTANCED SHOWCASE)
01-02 DOUGLAS
02-03 ARYX
03-04 PLASMADANCER (BETWIXT & BETWEEN TRIBUTE SET)
04-05 A.B
05-06 MIDAS 

JST Timetable, 12月22日 (土)

07-08 THUMPA
08-09 ENDEMIC
09-10 SUBSTANCED (HISTORY OF SUBSTANCED SHOWCASE)
10-11 DOUGLAS
11-12 ARYX
12-13 PLASMADANCER (BETWIXT & BETWEEN TRIBUTE SET)
13-14 A.B
14-15 MIDAS 

You can probably imagine what I’ve been doing for the past week, but with all that almost finished it’s time to ease back into the posting with a real stormer of an event. FINRG & FUTURISTICS marks the changing of the FINRG guard, with the ‘newer’ artists stepping up to make their marks. The lineup is a fabulous one, with the main headlining acts making it worth a trip from almost anywhere – Proteus vs Epyx & Cyrez, and an Alek Szahala, Nomic and Aryx Live PA. Whether the atmosphere can match the pure magic of 10 Years of FINRG remains to be seen, but this is still a massive one to look forward to.

I might actually be able to attend too, as once again it’ll be time for Project Get Away From Tokyo, and the vague plan is to head somewhere Europe-ward around February/March time. Check the FINRG & FUTURISTICS event page for full info, but here’s a sneaky look at the lineup in the meantime:

PROTEUS vs. EPYX & CYREZ LIVE [Säde / Finrg]

ALEK SZAHALA vs. NOMIC & ARYX(SI) LIVE [Finrg / ReBuild]

DOUGLAS(UK) & ENDEMIC(UK) [Hard Beats Collective]

THE NEW ERA COLLECTIVE LIVE [Finrg]

J7 & JAYVEE & ILLUVIAL [Finrg]

KABINET ROBOTS [Futuristics]


FUTURISTICS ROOM: 

VERTICAL [Parvati Records]

MACDETHIX [Futuristics]

TREMONT [Futuristics]

SOLAR EMOTION [Wavedata Records]

MIKADO [Futuristics]

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, as this compilation from one of Proteus’ sets is definitely one of my favourite recent gig videos. I must admit that I’m not familiar with CRISS, and there’s obviously no freeform on show here, but it looks like an awesome time was had by all. It’s also a lesson in set progression – just have a quick listen and check out all the different sounds, from old skool to gabber and back again.

Both sets from the first Smiling Corpse podcast are now online, and both are absolutely essential listens. Sadly I couldn’t make it for the event itself, but they’ve since been on permanent rotation during my endless commutes this week.

Olly Addictive and Wyrm got things off to a superb start with a really well selected set – nice and dark, there’s a good mix of old and new here, as well as some very interesting connections. Bonus points for Cheese in the Machine, the first time I’ve heard it in a set, and also for the quality tracks by Messrs Addictive and Wyrm themselves.

Substanced and Amini’s set, meanwhile, could be one of the very best of the year. Once again it’s incredible to hear the progress Amini’s made, and he’s now only slightly behind Substanced’s super-high-quality production. His tunes tend to be rougher these days too, so there’s a surprising amount of variety on show. Congratulations to Substanced and Alchemiist on Facemelt – it was the first time for me to hear this one, and it might be my favourite Substanced track of 2012. I’ve never used Rx’s toned-down version of Eternal Cannon in my own sets, but here it fits really well, and along with Morokai is an excellent choice to break things up.

Well done to the guys for a great first show – you’ll find links and full tracklists here.

 

Just in time to mention Smiling Corpse’s very welcome new radio show/podcast, Dead Happy. Hosted by Olly Addictive and Wyrm, this first edition features a b2b session from the chaps themselves, and a deadly-looking combination of Substanced and Amini.

No doubt there’ll be the usual madness in the chatroom to enjoy too, so be sure to show some support and head along at 10pm GMT.

Those mourning the end of Munted! Monthly! should rejoice, as Munted! is returning to Krafty Radio for a special Christmas edition. I’m honoured to have been asked to play, marking a full year since the start of my connection with the Munted! crew – this time I’ll be playing an hour-long tribute to Betwixt & Between.

I’m in the early stages of selecting tunes now, and hope to somehow get a balance of anthems, personal favourites, and lesser known material that does justice to Kaoru’s sound. The rest of the lineup covers a nice variety of styles and should make for a quality night from start to finish. As always, it’d be great to see some of the TYFTH crew in the krafty chatroom.

Full lineup (Set times TBA)

DOUGLAS
ENDEMIC
A.B
ARYX
PLASMADANCER (SPECIAL BETWIXT & BETWEEN TRIBUTE SET)
SUBSTANCED
THUMPA
MIDAS

A little bit late posting this up – Matt and Jamis of the good ship Watchtower were recently interviewed by CORE magazine, where they did a quality job of representing the scene and spreading the word re. the upcoming release of Volume 2.

Take a look at the CORE site for the full interview, where you’ll also find a really interesting mix from the Endemic guys. Obviously featuring the UK side of the label’s sound, it’s an ambitious set that combines some fairly angry drum and bass with the freeform. It’s all excellently mixed, and well worth a listen even if you usually lean more towards the Finnish side of things.